A spokesperson for Hilton said the company trains employees on handling and responding to inappropriate conduct, and that it encourages employees to report incidents or situations that may cause a concern.

“Hilton constantly strives to maintain an environment that is safe for our Team Members, guests and visitors,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “We maintain and enforce numerous policies and programs designed to maximize employee safety, and create an environment free of inappropriate harassment or offensive conduct.”

And yet Smith said she fears she could get in trouble — maybe even lose her position — if she refuses to do her job.

“If I had had a panic button, I would’ve pressed it.”

Smith is speaking out in favor of Measure Z, an Oakland ballot measure that would establish workplace protections for employees of hotels in the city with 50 or more guest rooms.

The measure would require hotels to provide employees with an emergency contact device — a panic button — to report crime, violence or threatening behavior. Every hotel employee assigned to work in a guest room or bathroom without other employees present, including room-service servers like Smith, would receive a panic button if the measure is adopted by a majority of voters.

The device would alert hotel security unless the hotel designates an alternative responder. It would force hotel management to respond to situations where a hotel worker feels sexually harassed.

What happens when hotel workers complain to hotel management now?

“The only thing they say is if you don’t feel comfortable or you don’t feel safe, to tell your co-worker cleaning on the same floor and to tell them to accompany you,” said Irma Pérez, a housekeeper at Courtyard by Marriott Oakland Downtown.

“I used to report it and the management would just say to ignore it — tell me to close my eyes to pretend like I don’t see,” she said.

In early September, Hilton and Marriott announced plans to roll out panic buttons to employees by 2020. Still, Measure Z does more than issue panic buttons.

The measure would also set a minimum hourly wage for hotel workers of $15 with benefits or $20 without benefits, and it would impose workload restrictions.

In addition, the measure would create a new city department, the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards, to enforce the measure, as well as other functions authorized by the city. According to the measure, the department would also enforce city minimum wage, sick leave and other employment standards. The city’s finance department estimates that the creation of a new city department would cost $2.8 million annually for staffing and operations.

Smith, who lives in San Leandro, works two or three nights a week at the airport hotel, which has multiple buildings. She said many hotel workers handle areas by themselves, making them vulnerable. She told me she has often feared for her safety.

I believe Smith and Pérez. They don’t know who is behind the doors they knock on. And if a man wants to sexually harass them, right now they feel like they can’t call anyone to stop the behavior.

I believe women. We shouldn’t be dismissive about sexual misconduct and harassment.

“Seeing the president and how he is and how bad he is, I think, yes, I need to speak out,” Smith said when I asked why she is pushing for Measure Z. “If we have a man like that, then we need to be speaking out.”

Otis R. Taylor Jr. is the East Bay columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, focusing on the people who make the region a fascinating place to live and work. A South Carolina transplant, Otis spent more than a decade at The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper, writing about arts, culture and entertainment. Previously, Otis was the managing editor of a tech startup. Otis is interested in reporting on issues relating to diversity and equality in the East Bay, as well as the region’s history, culture and politics. He studied English at Clemson University.